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Leigh Day settles Beko fridge freezer fire case

Father or two finally able to return to his home after it was seriously damaged in a fire

Noel Davies, 39, from Liverpool has finally been able to return to his home which was destroyed in a house fire allegedly caused by a Beko fridge freezer, after the Leigh Day product liability team secured an out of court settlement for him.

Mr Davies wasn’t at home in July 2014 when a fire broke out at his house causing extensive damage to the property and contents. The fire brigade issued an incident report linking the fire to a Beko fridge freezer.

Mr Davies had bought the fridge freezer second hand from a seller on Gumtree earlier that year. He paid for it in cash and didn’t keep a receipt.

Following the fire Mr Davies, a father of two and former army medic, was forced to stay in alternative accommodation.

A claim for compensation was made for uninsured losses and distress and inconvenience against Beko. The claim was successfully settled with for a six-figure sum of compensation, but without an admission of liability.

Beko fridge freezer fire recall

In 2011 Beko issued a recall of up to 500,000 models of its frost-free fridge freezer range which were manufactured between 2000 and October 2006.

Leigh Day also represents the family of Santosh Benjamin Muthiah, who died in a house fire caused by a Beko frost-free fridge freezer.

Jill Paterson, a partner in the product liability team at Leigh Day, who represents people who have suffered loss or injury through house fires arising from household appliances, said:

“We are delighted to have achieved this outcome for Mr Davies, which we hope will help him to rebuild his home and return to normality after such turmoil.”

Noel Davies was quoted on the BBC Watchdog – Testhouse programme on 2 March 2015 saying:

“You don’t expect to go to work on a Monday morning and come home and find your whole house has been destroyed by a fridge freezer.”

Mr Davies was able to return to his redecorated and restored house this week after Beko’s insurers paid for the refurbishment.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo Beko said: “The Trading Standards investigation into the seller of the fridge freezer is on-going. Until these investigations are completed and we have been able to establish the history of the product, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further. We are pleased to hear that Mr Davies is able to move back into his home and we send him our best wishes for the future.”

Specialist product liability lawyers at Leigh Day have extensive experience of dealing with claims concerning white goods and appliances that have caused injury and loss.